Sodom and Gomorrah, two cities located on the southern side of the Dead Sea, are two of the five “cities of the plain” referred to in Genesis 13:12 and 19:29. And God made them eclipsed by their people because of their sins, as stated in the Book of Genesis: “Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; 25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.” (19:24-25). And the Prophet Abraham saw the destruction that befell these villages: “He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.” (Genesis 19:28.)

The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were mentioned in the writings of Christian pilgrims during their pilgrimage to the eastern side of the Jordan, including the pilgrim Egeria (384AD), and the pilgrim Antonius Pechanza (570AD). The pilgrim Egeria, in her letter to the Sisters of Love, mentioned the site as follows: “From the door of the church, we saw from below the Jordan River flowing into the Dead Sea, opposite Tel Ramah from the eastern side, and Jericho from the western side, and I was able to see a vast area of Palestine and the entire lands of the Jordan Valley because the place was high when we stood, as far as our eyes could reach, and on the left we saw the lands of the people of Sodom and also Zoar, which is the only one that remains today from the ruins of the five cities that were burnt and turned to ashes.”

As for the pilgrim Pichanza, who comes from Italy, he mentioned the site when he visited the hot springs known as “Moses Baths”, during his pilgrimage to the Jordan River, saying: “There are springs of natural water that have fresh tastes that help heal people from diseases and purify themselves when drinking them, and they are not far from the sea. The salty water into which the Jordan River flows below the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

The word "Sodom" appears 48 times in the Bible, 38 of which are in the Old Testament and 10 times in the New Testament. Sodom and Gomorrah occupy an important place among the prophets of the Old Testament and the New Testament, as a call to the people to repent, preach and return to the Lord and His teachings. For example, but not limited to, the Lord Christ mentioned it by saying: “Truly, I say to you, that the land of Sodom and Gomorrah will have a lighter fate on the Day of Judgment than the fate of that city” (Matthew 10: 15), and also: “And you, Capernaum, are Turks ascended to heaven. He will bring you down to the place of the dead. If the miracles that happened in you had taken place in Sodom, you would have remained to this day" (Matthew 11:23.)

As they mentioned in the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to Rome (9:29): “And this is also what Isaiah foretold and said: If the Lord of hosts had not preserved for us offspring, we would have become like Sodom and the likeness of Gomorrah.” And also, they were mentioned in the second Epistle of St. Peter the Apostle (2:6): “And if He had made the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes, then He condemned them to ruin, as an example to those who come after them from among the infidels.” And also, in the Epistle of Judah (1:7): “Likewise, Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring cities indulged in such indecency, and sought out beings of a different nature, setting an example for others, and receiving the punishment of eternal fire.”